Remembering Sunday
by al-fearless13
Summary: Okay, so here's another songfic, this one to Remembering Sunday by All Time Low. Alex Gaskarth and his party-hard girlfriend Shelbie FutureMrs.Gaskarth featuring Rian Dawson, Zack Merrick, and Jack Barakat.
1. Chapter 1

_Forgive me I'm trying to find_

_My calling I'm calling at night_

_I don't mean to be a bother but_

_Have you seen this girl_

_She's been running through my dreams_

_And it's driving me crazy it seems_

_I'm gonna ask her to marry me_

Okay, another songfic… Remembering Sunday by All Time Low.

The knock on the door interrupted my three a.m. Friday night Call of Duty fete, and if Zack and Jack hadn't gotten into one of their usual arguments, I never would have been upstairs to hear it. I jogged over to the door, curious as to who would come to my house at three o clock in the morning.

I was in the middle of making microwave popcorn and, forgive me, grabbing another round of beers, but I put everything down and went to answer the door.

A little girl was standing on my doorstep, her head down, hair in a curtain over her face.

"Um… hi?" I asked.

When she looked up, my jaw clamped shut. She had a black eye and there were tears running down her cheeks. I stood there for five whole seconds before I could pull myself together to react.

"What happened?" I finally asked.

She just shook her head and moved forward, wrapping her arms around my stomach and resting her head on my chest, the gasping sobs of relief finally escaping.

I didn't move for a minute, but I realized that she wouldn't come back in the middle of the night, bruised and crying, if nothing was wrong. So instead of just walking away like I normally would have, I wrapped my arms around her and shut the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Two months earlier…

I woke up, sighing as my eyes blinked open. I was warm, comfortable. There were cold feet touching mine, and they were so small that they had to be hers. Shelbie's. The most beautiful girl in the world.

She was lying next to me, tucked into my arms perfectly, breathing slowly enough that she couldn't have been feigning sleep. My fingers found her long dark hair and started playing with the ends, humming quietly to her, keeping her dreams happy.

I lay there with her for an hour before she stirred, turning in my arms and burying her face in my chest.

"Hey, hon. Caught up on sleep?"

I expected her to laugh and make some sarcastic comment about the crazy party that I'd rescued her from the previous night, but she didn't react. I ran my hands over her back, but she flinched, whimpering quietly.

"Shelbie? Are you okay?"

When she still didn't answer, I realized she was still asleep. Her breathing was quick, and she was shaking a little bit.

"Shelbie. Shelbie, wake up," I said, shaking her shoulder. "Shelbie."

She started crying, and that was when I really got scared.

"Shelbie, honey. Wake up. Shelbie."

Finally, she shuddered and her eyes flew open. I was looking at her concernedly, and she was still breathing hard as she collapsed onto my bare chest, sobbing.

"Shh," I murmured, my arms rubbing her shoulders as I leaned down to kiss her cheeks. "Baby, it's okay. I've got you."

She was nodding, obviously trying hard to pull herself together. She sniffed hard and I just held her, waiting for her quiet crying to stop.

"You okay?" I asked when she was done.

She nodded, getting up and going to the bathroom. I followed her and stood behind her as she leaned on the counter, staring at herself in the mirror.

"You're so beautiful," I murmured in her ear, not knowing what the hell she was dreaming about that could scare her like that.

She attempted a smile and then said, "Can I have a minute?"

"Sure. Long as you want," I nodded, backing out of the room and shutting the door behind me. I walker part of the way down the hall, but when I heard her crying, I went back silently to stand outside the door.

"It's okay," she was whispering to herself. "You're fine, Shelbie, it was just a dream. It's not real, he's not coming back. He's not gonna hurt you ever again. It's okay."

And then the faucet turned on, and I knew she was splashing her face with water to try and calm the redness in her eyes down, but water didn't make any difference.

I quickly retreated down the stairs and turned on the tv, trying to distract myself as I waited for her. Who was he? _He's not gonna hurt you ever again_. Someone had hurt her? Why? And more, why didn't she tell me?

But I knew she didn't want to talk about it, and I knew she wouldn't tell me anyway. Last night had been amazing, and she wouldn't want to ruin it. Even though she kind of already had.

When she came downstairs, she sat down next to me on the couch. I knew she knew that I wouldn't bring it up, and I didn't. I put my arm around her shoulders and she leaned up to kiss my lips.

"You wanna go get breakfast?" I asked, thinking of the IHOP that was just down the road.

"I don't really wanna go out today," she said softly, "if that's okay with you. I'm still kinda tired. Do you have any food?"

"Ummmm," I said, thinking about what my mom had said before she'd left. She was always traveling; she said she couldn't stand LA. She was from the south, and she was the most stereotypical farm girl that you could imagine. She loved going down to Tennessee and Georgia and was always leaving me here by myself. I didn't mind, though – even though my mom was really laid back and practically didn't believe in punishment, there was a sense of pride and respect that came with someone trusting you in a house alone as a teenager. Especially multiple times. It was just awesome.

_There's stuff in the freezer_, I remembered her calling up the stairs, _and I think there are some eggs and you can always make pb&j. I'm leaving you money for pizza with the guys, too, okay?_

"There's eggs," I said. "And peanut butter and jelly."

"I used to eat sandwiches for breakfast," she said, a smile on her face. She was back.

"Ew," I teased. "That's gross. And what, pancakes at noon?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Breakfast for lunch! Y'all don't do that here?"

This was why my mom loved Shelbie so much – they were both southern girls at heart. I just didn't understand, but both of them said I'd get it if I went down to Tennessee. They agreed that I could never fit in.

"Well, if you're too cool for pb&j, eggs it is!"

I chuckled, following her as she got up and waltzed into the kitchen.

"Aren't you hungover?" I asked with a smile, remembering how drunk she was when she called me from the party.

"Yeah," she said, "but I'm ignoring it. It's not so bad anyway. I'm kind of used to it now."

That, to me, was a scary statement. Something that not even an alcoholic would say.

"Are you sure?" I asked as she opened the refrigerator and extracted the carton of eggs.

"Damn, you have no food, Alex," she observed.

"I don't?" I asked, peeking around her to see the contents – or lack of – in my refrigerator.

"Nope," she said, shutting the door before I could really see what she was talking about.

She made her way over to the sink and started breaking eggs over the drain, something I would always admire because I'd never be able to do. My hands wound their way around her waist and she turned around to kiss me.

Incident from this morning? Already forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

Shelbie, in a nutshell, was a party girl. I met her not too long ago, after a concert. She was in the parking lot, halfway to wasted, arguing with some girl. The girl bitch-slapped her across the face and Shelbie was about to hit the girl back when I stepped in and grabbed her.

I told them to get out, but Shelbie was bleeding so badly out of her mouth that I was concerned. The other girl had rings on, she'd said. I took her backstage and cleaned her up, and from there I was yanked into the whirlwind life of Shelbie.

She partied every night and slept all day. She only went to school if she felt like it, which was maybe rolling in late two or three times a week if she had free period.

Before I was in her life, she had a different boyfriend, and for a while I was convinced that she'd only dropped him for me because I was Alex Gaskarth. But watching her, she became a lot happier and got a lot more friends, not just because I introduced her to people or because she was dating me. She just became a lot more likeable. She used to sleep around all the time, but once we'd gotten together, she seemed a lot better. Almost like she was actually sick in the first place.

After Shelbie made me breakfast, we went back upstairs to my room, and Shelbie turned on the tv. Something I really liked about her was that she was totally comfortable changing the channel herself, and also that if I asked her to stop so I could watch something that I saw, she would. She could be entertained by just about anything.

She was lying next to me, and I was sitting up on my elbow, slightly over her, tracing patterns on her neck. And I noticed a spot that was yellow, out of place on her glowing skin. It looked almost like a bruise.

I gently pressed on it, something that shouldn't have hurt, and she winced. "Alex, don't," she said, pulling away and sitting up.

"Where did you get that?" I asked. "It looks like it hurt."

She nodded. "It does."

A moment later, I asked again, "Where did you get it?"

"Nowhere," she said.

"Shelbie. Come on."

"It's not a big deal, Alex."

"Then tell me."

"No. I don't want to. Don't go all 'overprotective boyfriend' on me. God, I hate that."

I was slightly taken aback by her lashing out at me. "Sorry," I said, my forehead creasing in confusion. "I was just a little worried."

"Well, don't be," she snapped. Then she sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry. I'm still tired from last night, so I'm cranky. Please forgive me."

I kissed her cheek, what she interpreted as me saying that we were okay, which we were. But I was still trying to figure out why she'd reacted so badly. And that tied in with her dream from this morning, I was really worried.

No matter what, I was going to get to the bottom of this.


	4. Chapter 4

Four o'clock the day after, Shelbie was in the shower, singing, getting ready for another night filled with alcohol, drugs, and loud music. The way she loved it and the way I let her do it disgusted me, but I loved her and I wanted her to be happy. This was what made her happy.

As much as I wanted her to be, she wasn't my girlfriend. I wasn't her boyfriend, though sometimes she accused me of wanting to be. Like the day before when she'd said not to go all 'overprotective boyfriend' on her. That was her way of letting me know that she didn't want a boyfriend. It's confusing, but that's just how she is.

I know she thinks she doesn't believe in love, but she has to. It's real – I think I feel it for her.

I went to stand outside the bathroom to listen to her, and I was so drawn to her voice that I opened the door and sat down on the floor, listening with my eyes closed. I leaned back against the door and started working harmonies in my head to what she was singing. She was on-key and her voice was smooth, something I'd never heard before. She always said she was bad, but now I knew that was a lie. She broke off in the middle of a song and laughed, sighing to herself.

"Oh, Alex," she said quietly, and I thought she was talking to me, but I soon realized that she was talking to herself. "What am I going to do? I don't deserve you. You should never have saved me that day, and I should never have let you even ask me on a date. And you want so badly for us to be official, but if it's official, than it might as well never have existed. Because then it's all about reputations and presents and dates and money and moving in together and who knows what else, and I sure as hell don't want that." She sighed again. "Maybe I should just leave."

"No you shouldn't."

She screamed, her voice echoing in the tile room. The curtain was yanked aside, and there she was, mascara streaked all the way down her face, looking so scared that I couldn't even put it into words. "God, Alex, don't _do_ that," she sighed, relaxing. Then she got mad. "_Don't_ do that. Ever. How long have you been in here?"

"Like two minutes. God, Shel, what's up with you today?"

"I'm just tired," she said shortly.

"Like hell you are," I replied. "I think you should stay home."

She laughed, a cold, empty laugh, moving the curtain back into place. "You don't know anything, Alex. You don't know anything about these parties, or my friends, or my life."

"Then tell me," I pleaded. "I don't know what to do anymore. I have no way to fix this."

"How old are you?" she asked. "Twelve? God, grow up already. I'm a mess. I'm a huge fucking mess."

"No you're not," I countered. "You're fine."

"Do you even see me?" she asked. "Open your eyes. I have no life other than alcohol and you. You. God, Alex, I thought you were gonna be the one to save me. But instead you let me go on with my life."

"I was trying to make you happy."

She didn't answer that.

"Shelbie?" I questioned. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she said. "This is my fault." The water turned off, and I picked up the towel and handed it to her. "Thanks. You know, I think I will just go."

"Don't go," I said. "Shelbie, don't go, I need you."

She laughed. "Sure. Of course you do, Alex. You need me, you need me. You just love picking me up drunk in the middle of the night and taking me home and holding my hair back while I throw up."

"I'm not saying that I do. But I know the person you are, the person that you can be. The one I wake up to in the morning that just made me breakfast and was singing in the shower. The beautiful, sweet girl that's not afraid to speak her mind. That's what I need. "

She shook her head. "You only think you do," she said. "You don't even know me."

And then she started crying.

"Shelbie," I said, standing up. "Don't."

"Don't what, Alex? You have no idea what the hell I've been through. You wouldn't even understand," she muttered, stepping out onto the tile and pushing past me out the door.

"Then help me," I said weakly, not knowing what to do. "How can I fix this?" I pleaded. "I want to make this better, Shelbie. I… I l-"

She whirled around and covered my mouth with her hand. "Don't," she said darkly. "Don't you ever, ever say that to me, Alex. Never."

"But it's true," I said, hurt that she would react like this.

She shook her head, smiling sadly. "It doesn't exist, Alex. When are you going to figure that out?"

She put on her clothes and kissed my cheek, and she grabbed her keys and was gone, leaving me there to wonder when or if she would ever come back.

And honestly, my faith in her at this point was low.


	5. Chapter 5

JACK'S POV (Two days after Shelbie's been MIA)

When I got home, I was exhausted. School, band practice during lunch, finish school, then go to Rian's for more band practice.

I was sick of hearing Alex and Zack bickering about nothing, giving each other bloody noses over guitar parts or whatever the hell it was this time, and then apologizing and resuming acting like brothers. I just couldn't keep up.

I dropped my bag in the kitchen and called up the stairs, "I'm home!" to my mom, then going down the stairs to the basement room that I took over when Joe left for college.

I flicked on the lights and was shocked to see someone in my bed with a wine glass in hand, eyes tired and red from crying. "Shelbie?" I asked, trying to hide my shock in a gentle tone. She rolled half over and set the now-empty glass on my nightstand, and I moved to sit next to her. She was clad in an old class t-shirt of mine from freshman year, the covers pulled up around her lap. There was a fresh bruise on her cheek, and I knew there was nothing in the world that could make Alex hurt her like that.

"Honey, what happened?" I asked, not being able to help the fact that my voice slipped into an almost babyish tone. She didn't seem to even notice.

She just shook her head and buried her head in her hands. Her voice shook uncontrollably as she started trying to talk. "Jack, I'm sorry, I just… I didn't know where else to go. I had this huge fight with Alex and I left and I shouldn't have but I can't go back, I just can't, and I-"

"Shhh," I said, catching her and burying her trembling body as she let the wracking sobs loose. I could tell she hadn't really cried about this, that was why she was so desperate. So I wrapped her tightly in my arms and rocked her gently back and forth as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Okay," she said softly, almost to herself. "Okay. It's okay. I'm fine. I'm okay." She was reassuring herself, I gathered. I was surprised. She didn't seem at all the type to need to do that. Finally she pulled away and gave me a half-laugh. "Oh, look what I've done," she sighed, that sad smile still on her lips.

Her fingers moved over the edge of my t-shirt, running over the soft material of the shoulder she'd been crying into. I caught her hand and wound my fingers into hers. She looked down, staring at our intertwined hands, and I tightened my grip a little so she wouldn't pull away.

"Shel… we've all been worried sick. Honey, where were you?"

She shrugged. "Around," she settled on after a moment of thought.

"Around," I repeated, nodding. I knew three things about Shelbie. One, that she had been somewhere that she shouldn't have been. Two, that she deserved to be with Alex for the rest of her life. And three, I would never understand her, no matter how hard I tried.

"Well," I said after the silence had started to bother me, "you can stay here if you want. As long as you want. What do they say… mi casa es su casa?"

She smiled and I could tell that it was real. "Something like that," she said. "Thank you, Jack. I don't know what I would do if…" I waited a moment, wanting her to finish, but she just looked up at me and smiled. "Thank you, Jack."

I nodded. "Welcome. Hey, you hungry? I'm going to get some food. I can bring you something."

She shook her head. "I'm alright," she said, starting to get up. "I'm just going to go to sleep."

"Okay, but stay here. We've got tons of beds in this house, but this is the most comfortable. You need it."

She gave me another weak smile. "No, it's okay," she began, but I cut her off.

"Mi casa es su casa," I repeated loudly, standing up as straight as I could and putting on an authoritative face. Then I dove down onto the bed next to her and started tickling her. She was laughing, going, "Stop! Stop! Oh, god, stop it!"

"Surrender to my tickle power or I will never release you!"

"Okay!" she exclaimed, still trying to push me off of her. "Okay, Jack! I surrender! I surrender!"

"Say 'uncle'," I said maliciously.

"No!" she shrieked, her giggles almost hysterical. "Jack, oh my god!"

"Say it," I insisted, not letting up.

"Okay!" she cried, still laughing. "Alright. Uncle! Uncle!"

"What-I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you."

"UNCLE!" she screamed.

I chuckled, letting go of her. She lay there, catching her breath and still laughing a little. "God, Shel, I'm sure the neighbors appreciated that," I grinned.

"You can't tell Alex I'm here," she said. "I'm just trying to figure everything out. No matter what you do, you can't let him know that I'm here or even that you've seen me. Jack, you have to swear."

"I swear."

"Do you mean that?"

"Shel, I said I swear!"

She sighed. "Fine."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down next to her. My face was extremely close to hers. I couldn't breathe. I was surprised to find out that the pink in her cheeks was natural and that her teeth were perfectly straight.

"Don't leave me," she whispered. "Jack, please, I'm scared. Don't leave me."

"I'm right here," I murmured, smoothing my hand over her hair. "I'm not going anywhere."

I knew it was wrong, knew from the second I saw her in my bed. And I was either asleep, in deep need of medication, or I'd let my hormones get the best of me, because in a matter of minutes, I was letting my best friend's girlfriend press her lips to mine in the true kiss of death.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey y'all. I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything cause I've been super busy with therapy and other shit, but I'm here now. I missed all the emails from y'all commenting/favoriting – more is good! :) thanks!

JACK'S POV

Now, the task was to get Alex over without asking suspicious and not letting him down to my room to find Shelbie. The problem was that I knew he would be too pushy that I couldn't resist him. But maybe I could fake sick or something.

No, he knew me too well.

I went downstairs to see that Shelbie had popped Rent into the DVD player and was waltzing around my room, singing loudly. I stayed in the doorway silently watching until the song was over and she plopped onto the bed, the most innocent smile in the world on her lips. She sighed happily and gazed at the television screen.

I waltzed into the room, imitating her movements and singing my own off-key rendition of the lyrics I'd picked up from the movie, something about lighting a candle and the best ass south of fourteenth street. Two people in an artsy apartment singing. I don't know. It was weird.

She looked embarrassed, but she laughed. "Ugh," she smiled. "You heard that? It was awful, wasn't it?"

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't. It was actually really good. You sound just like the girl in the movie."

She looked down at her hands and I knew I'd made her blush. Aww. Wait- no. Not good. Not good at all. This was Alex's girlfriend. ALEX'S. I couldn't mess with her or him or them. They were too good together, and she was in love with him. But last night… that kiss…

No. I've got to stop this, _now_. I can't like her. She's Alex's girl. Not mine. It's that simple. Shelbie was off-limits, no exceptions. I knew if this situation was reversed, I'd kill Alex if he fell for my girlfriend. Not that I had one – the issue with Noel had been too much for me to handle. I couldn't make myself go through that twice.

It was snowing outside, and Shel and I watched it for a while in silence. Then she closed her eyes and softly sang,

_There is no future_

_There is no past_

_Thank god this moment's not the last_

She turned in my arms and leaned her cheek against my chest.

_There's only us_

_There's only this_

_Forget regret_

_Or life is yours to miss_

_No other road_

_No other way_

_No day but today _

"What does that mean?" I asked. I couldn't believe how amazing her voice was. It was actually… beautiful.

She shrugged. "I don't know," she murmured. "I just feel so safe here… like nothing can hurt me."

The doorbell rang, ringing throughout the whole house. She shrank backwards into my arms, like she was afraid. I looked down at her suspiciously before saying, "Shel, it's just Alex."

She relaxed. Then immediately, she tensed back up again. "What the hell, Jack? I told you not to tell him I was here!"

"I didn't! He comes over here all the time and I couldn't keep coming up with excuses. Just stay down here, okay? He'll just wanna watch the game upstairs. There's food in my fridge," I said, motioning over to the mini-fridge in the corner, "and if you need anything… I don't know. Call my phone and I'll come down."

"But-"

"Just do it. I'll lie or something."

She nodded. "Thank you for doing this, Jack. I don't deserve this."

"It's no problem," I smiled. "And you do deserve it, you know."

"No, I don't," she said looking at her feet. I was about to ask her why she was so upset, but Alex rang the doorbell three times in quick succession and I shook my head, turned on my heel, and jogged up the dark basement stairs.

"Coming!" I yelled at the top. I grabbed two apples off the counter and went to open the door.

"Dude, it's fucking freezing," Alex said, pushing past me and taking one of the apples out of my hand. He took a large bite, and I chuckled as the juice dribbled down his chin. I followed him as he went into the family room and plopped down on the couch.

It was hard to stay focused on the football game when all I could think about was Shelbie and why she was here and why she'd cried before and what had frightened her when the doorbell rang and why she'd looked so upset when she'd told me she didn't deserve me to be so nice to her; the questions went on and on.

So I just pretended I knew what I was doing and tried to immerse myself into the television with Alex. I was aware enough that I cheered when our team got a touchdown, but I knew Alex knew something was up, and I knew I wouldn't be able to avoid an interrogation after this.

Sometimes I hated him for being such a girl.


	7. Chapter 7

SHELBIE

I was listening upstairs, and I relaxed as soon as I heard the tv turn on. I turned off Rent and climbed under the covers. I shut my eyes and let my mind slip into a dreamless sleep without Alex or Jack or… him. He was never coming back. Alex would never let him hurt me.

xxx

I felt a breeze on my cheek and sensed someone watching me. I blinked my eyes open and saw a tall dark mass above me, staring down. Someone I recognized but couldn't exactly place; it was too dark to really tell. It wasn't Jack or Alex, though, and neither of the other guys from the band.

But the familiar chilling sensation was in my stomach – that gut feeling that something was wrong. I'd grown so accustomed to that I hadn't even realized it was there for a moment, but there it was. I sat bolt upright and as he came closer to me, I had to fight myself not to let out a scream.

I bit my lip as he whispered my name, so soft that it could have been the wind. But as he leaned in even farther, I shivered.

"Cold?" he asked gently, using that same tone that had captured my attention the first time I'd met him. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you out of here. We'll go home, okay?"

I shook my head, shutting my eyes. _Just a dream, Shel. Just like last time. It's just a dream. _But I knew it wasn't true. This was too real, more so than those dreams that I honest-to-god thought were real. This was more.

I could smell him, the strong yet subtle cologne he wore. And that feeling? I never got that in my dreams. I was just uneasy. This was… I don't even know what.

He reached down under the covers and lifted me easily, as if I weighed no more than a baby.

"No," I whispered. "No, please… please don't do this… I don't love you."

"Yes you do," he said darkly. "You were the one that begged me to come get you, remember?"

I shook my head again, more violently this time. "No, I didn't. I'm happy here. Please…"

He was already stepping out of the window, still holding me tightly.

"No. No!" I begged, and I knew my last chance at freedom was here. I screamed. As soon as I did it, I regretted it for two reasons. First, because Jack would never hear me. But if he did, Alex would, too, and I'd have a lot of explaining to do. And second, because the man holding me said, "I hoped it wouldn't come down to this." And he smacked me across the face. I went limp in his arms, and I could taste the blood coming from my lips.

The last thing I heard was Jack, running downstairs and calling my name.

Too bad it probably wasn't real.


	8. Chapter 8

Here's the chapter I promised Shelbie at 7 am today. This is for you with love, dear.

ALEX

"What the fuck was that?" I asked.

There had been a noise from downstairs, a noise that sounded almost like a scream. Jack's entire body had frozen, and he sprung up from the couch and dashed downstairs.

I followed him quickly, not sure what was going on. But the one thing I knew was that it wasn't something good.

"Shelbie!" Jack yelled, sounding like he was about to panic.

"Shelbie?" I asked. We were standing in the doorway of his bedroom, looking at his bed. It had just been slept in. I rounded on him angrily. "Did you sleep with her?" I spat.

"No! God, Alex, no!"

I relaxed. He wasn't lying.

"She was here?" I muttered. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"She begged me not to. But… not right now, Alex. We gotta find her."

"She just left. She can't be far," he said.

A car engine turned over outside, and we climbed rapidly through the open window just in time to see a dark mustang pull away from the curb.

"Dammit," Jack hissed. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed three numbers. 9-1-1.

"What are you-"

"Did she ever say anything to you?" he asked quietly. "Anything about… feeling safe with you? Or not having to worry about anything?"

I nodded.

"Okay. That's what she kept saying to me. So I'm wondering if she didn't feel safe cause she was afraid of…" he trailed off and my mind connected that to her dream the other day. The bruise on her neck. The overprotective boyfriend comment.

She was afraid of… a man. Oh my god. All this time, she'd been getting abused. That's why she was always drinking. Oh my god. Oh my _god_.

Why didn't she say anything?

"That's him," I whispered.

"911 emergency," a voice said through the phone. "How can I help you?"

I grabbed the phone from Jack. "Hi, I'd like to report a kidnapping…"


	9. Chapter 9

Lying on my side in the back of the car, I fought to keep from crying. The blood was dribbling down my chin, but I couldn't wipe it away; my hands were tied tightly together, keeping me from being able to move. After all, I didn't want to. I wanted him to think I was unconscious. Maybe that way I could save myself some pain.

Jack's voice was still echoing in my head; _Shelbie!_

If it had happened, if by some immense miracle he heard my cry for help, he and I would have a helluvalot of explaining to do to Alex.

I wanted a drink.

God! Is that all I could think? That I wanted to _drink_ something? I rolled my eyes even though they were closed. I brought myself back into the situation at hand. The car smelled like cigarettes and the man I thought I loved, the man I thought I loved me. He was driving quickly as usual, and I prayed that today would be the day he got caught.

No one stopped us. We were only on the highway for a few minutes.

I wanted to scream at him, to hit him. I wanted to cry, for someone I loved to come get me away from him and hold me. Maybe I could fight him myself.

Who was I kidding?

I was strong for a girl my age; I had to be, with the people I dealt with around. But there was no way I could handle him, not on my own. Unless…

No, don't even think that. You're not going to kill him, Shel. You're not. That's ridiculous. He has a life.

The devil in my head scoffed. Yeah, some life. Drinking, shooting heroin, and kidnapping the ex-girlfriends he raped and abused. Just do it. You may wind up saving somebody else's life. That's one less person spending their life in therapy because he fucked them over. Literally.

But what did it matter? Too many people in the world get hurt to let one go without feeling any pain. I sighed, hopeless in the back of the car. I was never hopeless. I could always come up with a plan.

What if he kidnapped me to kill me? What if he's going to actually try to kill me? I wouldn't put it past him, and at this point I don't really care. The only thing I've got to lose is the guys, and they'd get over it. I'm going to hell anyway.

I felt the car suddenly slow and turn. I cracked my eyes open slightly, and I could see trees out the window, but that was about it. A few rainclouds.

I had to get out of here. Maybe I could make a break for it when the car stopped. I was fast; maybe I could outrun him. But maybe not; for a drug addict he was in fantastic physical shape, so maybe that plan sucked too. God.

Clear your head. It's gonna be okay. Don't cry Shelbie, don't you cry.

The voice talking to me was bitter, merciless. It was my panic voice, my hide-your-emotions-at-all-costs voice. The one that didn't let me hurt, let me even feel.

He thought I was unconscious; maybe I _should_ run. I'd have the element of surprise on my side anyway.

That's what I'll do. I'm not going to let him hurt me. And I'm sure as hell not going down without a fight.

The car turned again and bumped around as it pulled up a driveway. We were at a house that I'd never seen before, probably a drug house, but I didn't care. I was more concerned about whether I'd be able to outrun him.

The car stopped and he unlocked the doors. I sat up quickly and opened the door with one of my hands. I shot out, started running. I let myself cry then, tears streaming down my cheek alongside dry blood. I was moving fast, but the car had been moving faster a moment ago.

The car… dammit, I forgot he had the car. But I hadn't heard it turn on.

"Shelbie!" he roared.

After that, there was silence. And then, a single loud noise cut through. It was hidden under a crack of thunder, but to me, the other sound was louder. I knew that noise anywhere; it was the noise that haunted my dreams.

The man I thought I loved had just pulled out a gun and let a bullet fly.

I screamed in agony and collapsed onto the concrete. I could feel blood seeping out of me onto the pavement.

I heard the car start again and drive away. I cried then, too, the pain and the experience fueling the tears.

That was when the rain started. It began in drops and then fell harder, until the lightning and thunder were upon me as I lay dying in the middle of the street.

Let me know if you want me to continue! :)


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